


Exegol

by Virtie333



Series: Rey's Adventures Post TRoS [8]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Badass Rey (Star Wars), Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Force Sex (Star Wars), Force Tree, Force-Sensitive Poe Dameron, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Jedi Training (Star Wars), Non-Graphic Smut, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Planet Exegol (Star Wars), Planet Yavin 4 (Star Wars), Romance, Sith Shenanigans (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:34:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29557815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virtie333/pseuds/Virtie333
Summary: After encountering another Sith Loyalist survivor from Exegol, Rey becomes determined to visit the Sith planet to ensure all is well and the Sith are indeed extinct. Of course, her boys (Poe, Finn, Chewie, and BB-8) won’t let her go alone.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Series: Rey's Adventures Post TRoS [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1932172
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It took a long time to get back to writing after I was done with Naboo. I loved it so much and was so proud of it, it was difficult trying to find a story to follow it. All I know is I wanted the ‘trio’ back together; Finn needed to be a part of the action again. Eventually, a story evolved around them, and I love it, but I still found that this particular story, as much as I wanted Finn involved, ended up being a fluff and smut fest for my favorite couple. I guess I felt they were still making up for all the time they lost in the last story! Therefore, I’m labeling this one a full romance, but it does have an intriguing story, too.
> 
> So, (in my best General Dameron voice) Welcome to Exegol!

Rey Skywalker stood atop the ridgeline, looking out over the vast expanse before her. Pale green grasses blew in the ever-present wind of the prairie off to her left and to her right the stark sandstone pillars and cliffs of the area known as the Badlands showed off their various colors, ranging from almost white to bright orange. Somewhere not too far from where she was now standing and not so long ago, she had faced death as a Moher, a giant bird-like creature, stole her right off of Sal’s back and tried to fly away with her. 

  
It was odd to feel nostalgic about such a terrible moment in her life, but her time here on Kolbe almost two years ago was a memory she could look back on with only a minimum of negative emotion now. It had ended well for both her and Sal, and the planet itself was not to blame, so why dwell on the bad? Which is why she was here now, looking over this area right along the border between the grasslands and the Badlands, deciding with a handful of other Resistance members whether or not this would be a good place for a new base. 

  
It was a bittersweet decision for all of them; Yavin IV, where their current base was located, had become home for many of them. But they had known it was temporary, and four times now since the end of the war with the Traagmol it had been attacked by terrorists that had supported either the Traagmol or their Sith sponsors. Seeking revenge, they had threatened the innocent residents of the planet, which made moving the base a priority now. Rey had been the one to suggest Kolbe, knowing it was uninhabited by any other sentients at the moment. 

  
It hadn’t always been that way. After Rey had returned from her forced exile on the planet, she had learned a great deal about it. It had once been home to several different sentient species, including humans. The land was rich and fertile, and though the weather was volatile, the growing seasons were long and many had thought raising substantial crops was worth the gamble of having it all ruined in one fell swoop by a tornado or hail. Then the Empire had taken over, and most of the residents had essentially become slaves. When crops were destroyed by natural disaster, the Imperials didn’t just shrug and say, “Oh, well. That’s life.” Instead, they took it out on the farmers. Whole villages were destroyed, people killed or sold into true slavery off-world. When the Empire fell just over 35 years ago, it didn’t take long for all the survivors to abandon Kolbe, the years of fear and worry over the weather having taken its toll. Since then, Kolbe had been left to the non-sentient native inhabitants and the occasional temporary smuggler or rebel hideout.

  
But now, Rey was almost positive, it was about to become home to the Resistance. 

  
Just two short weeks ago, Rey and the group she was now with had attended a meeting on Naboo, the current capital of the New Republic, where it had been suggested that the Resistance should be disbanded. After the war with the Traagmol had ended, recruitment for the New Republic’s Navy and Army had increased tenfold, and now, for the first time since its re-establishment, the New Republic’s military was larger and better equipped than the Resistance. But the Resistance’s leadership had declined to even talk about dissolving their organization. Leia Organa had established the Resistance back when the first New Republic had a very well-organized military; that hadn’t helped them when the First Order unveiled Starkiller Base. The Resistance would remain, separate from the New Republic but ready to assist when needed. No one really challenged them; after all, if it hadn’t been for General Poe Dameron and his militia, the war with the Traagmol would have been lost. 

  
*Are you going to ever come down or are you going to stay up there looking like a goddess waiting for us to worship you?*

  
The teasing question wasn’t asked out loud, but Rey could hear it in her head as if he had spoken right next to her. She looked down the hill off to her left, where her husband stood several yards away from her, hands on his hips and a small smile barely visible through the short beard on his face as he looked up at her. 

  
*I don’t see you worshipping me,* Rey responded in kind. 

  
*Really?* She could see him raise his eyebrows and tilt his head. *What about last night? I must not be doing it right.* 

  
Unbidden, images of last night rushed into Rey’s mind. Poe’s dark head between her legs, one of Rey’s hands gripping his hair, his beard tickling her inner thighs. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and started down the hill toward him. He was grinning now, his smile startling against the salt and pepper beard. As she got closer, she finally spoke out loud. “You’re getting pretty good at that,” she told him. He was getting better every day with his growing Force abilities; just a few short months ago having a full conversation with each other through the Force wouldn’t have been possible, with just a word or an image being the extent of their non-verbal communication. 

  
“Could have gone on longer if I hadn’t been distracted,” he told her as she finally reached him. 

  
“Hey, it’s your fault that memory came to mind,” she told him wryly. They started walking side by side toward the _Shaman’s Trance_ , the shuttle they had used to come to Kolbe. The others in their group were also slowly making their way back to the ship after doing their own personal survey of the area. 

  
“Yeah, well, now you can help me with my little problem,” Poe told her as they walked along. 

  
Rey glanced down at her husband’s crotch, noting that the bulge there was a bit bigger than normal thanks to their shared memory of last night. “Little?” she asked. “Since when did you become so modest?” 

  
Poe stopped and turned to her, his eyes narrowed, but she could see the corners of his mouth twitch. “Not THAT problem!” he said in exasperation. He waved his arm toward the shuttle. “THAT problem!”

  
Rey looked to where he was motioning, noticing BB-8 at the top of the ship’s ramp, rocking back and forth in agitation. She laughed. “Oh! That little problem!”

  
“Yeah,” Poe responded as they continued walking. “He won’t leave the ship. Your stories of this place have him totally freaked out.” He shook his head. “He’s convinced some big bird is going to fly away with him.”

  
“I think he’s been hanging around Threepio too much,” Rey told him. “He never used to be scared of anything.” 

  
“I keep telling him that we’ll take safety precautions if we move here, but he still refuses to agree to it.”

  
“Have you informed him he isn’t a part of the Resistance leadership therefore he doesn’t have a say?” she grinned. “He needs a job, Poe,” she continued. “He hasn’t flown in combat since he was with me at Naboo.” 

  
“I know,” he answered. “That’s pretty sad, isn’t it? Almost a year of peace and my droid is going crazy.” 

  
“We’ll figure out something for him,” she told him as they reached the ship. The others in their group started to gather around them. 

  
Poe waited until they were all there. “Well? Yeah or nay?”

  
“Yes,” D’Acy said firmly.

  
“I like it,” Connix agreed.

  
“It’ll work,” Junior added.

  
“Let’s do it,” Finn said with a sharp nod. 

  
BB-8 started squealing from his position at the top of the ramp.

  
“Noted, buddy,” Poe told him. The droid’s opinion was the lone objection.

  
“Okay,” Poe said with his own nod. “Welcome to the new home of the Resistance!” 

  
******


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Fluff and smut ahead!

Rey spent the following day after their return to Yavin IV with her students and their families, going over the details of the move. Because there were no structures on Kolbe, it would take more time to get things set up than it had taken when they moved from Ajan Kloss to Yavin; there had been many structures left from when the Rebellion had been stationed at Yavin, including the huge Massassi temples that they had used as hangers. Kolbe was a clean slate. Because of that, only about a third of the Resistance personnel would be heading to the planet first to set up temporary shelters and start the planning for more permanent buildings. Once things were a little more established, the rest of the organization would come, bringing ships, weapons, and the remaining equipment. Rey’s ‘school’ would then make the move, coming along with the last wave of Resistance supplies and personnel. 

  
Rey had to admit it was a large undertaking, but a lot easier to do in segments like they were able to do now rather than all at once like they had to do when hiding from the First Order. Had their last secret move, the move to Ajan Kloss, been almost six years ago? It seemed longer, so much had happened since then. The defeat of the First Order and the Emperor’s Final Order, the destruction of the Emperor himself, Finn and Rose’s wedding, the first of what would end up being a total of six since then, plus seven new babies among the Resistance members, two of which belonged to Rey and Poe. And she couldn’t forget the other war, (though she would like to) this time with an alien species invading from Wild Space. 

  
Once Rey had gone over the details of the move with her ‘school,’ she had headed toward home, where she knew her father-in-law was watching her children, Shaina, who was almost a ‘grown-up’ three years old, and Skyler, who at just 11 months was already walking and talking. 

  
The sun had set and Yavin had yet to rise, so it was fairly dark as she arrived at her little house just off base. Kes was sitting in the small living area, reading to a sleepy looking Shaina. One ‘glance’ with the Force told her that Skyler was already asleep in the children’s bedroom. Kes looked up as she entered and gave her a soft smile that held a hint of sadness. Rey knew why. Leaving Yavin IV meant leaving Kes. 

  
“Poe isn’t back, yet,” he told her softly. “I know he was going over some of the equipment you all are planning on leaving to sell in the village. He was going to store it in my shed.” He frowned a bit. “I didn’t think he would take this long. Maybe you should go check on him?”

  
Rey looked at him with narrowed eyes. “Oh, really?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm. “Why can’t you check on him? He’s at your house.” 

  
Kes gave her a one shoulder shrug, trying his best to look innocent. “I don’t want to disturb the babies.” Just then, Shaina gave a big yawn and nestled her head down on her grandfather’s other shoulder, eyes closed. 

  
Rey shook her head and tried not to laugh. “Okay, Papa,” she told him. “I’ll go check on him if you’re okay to stay here for a while longer.” 

  
“Of course, I am, Filla,” he told her with a wry smile. “Take my speeder.”

  
Rey did just that, wondering what exactly her husband and his father were up to. 

  
Upon arriving at the Dameron farmstead, she noticed that the house was completely dark other than the security light near the front door. She stepped out of the speeder and opened herself to the Force, unsurprised when it led her to the backyard. She made her way toward the Force tree, slowing down as she neared its soothing presence. She stopped and smiled as she looked down at her husband, who was sitting at the base of the tree, leaning back against the trunk, eyes closed. He was shirtless and barefoot, and the gentle blue glow that emanated from the tree seemed to highlight his naked skin, making it almost appear as if he was the one glowing. 

  
She stood quietly, admiring the sight before her, until she noticed his eyes were open, watching her warily. Finally, he asked, “What time is it?” He looked over to his left, where the red/orange shape of Yavin was just beginning to rise over the treetops. He looked back at her. “I guess I fell asleep.” He didn’t look too guilty. 

  
Rey crossed her arms and smiled. “And here I thought you and your dad were up to something. I guess it was just your dad.” 

  
“He sent you to fetch me?” Poe grinned at her. “That must mean he’s okay with us being a little late getting back.”

  
“Oh,” she responded. “So, you did plan this?” 

  
He shook his head. “Nope,” he told her. “But I know how to make the best of every situation presented to me.” He held out his hand toward her. “It might be our last time under this tree,” he said softly. “Might as well make another memory.” 

  
She pretended to consider it for a moment, then reached out and took his hand, letting herself drop down onto her knees next to him. She leaned in to kiss him, not resisting as he worked her tunic up her body and eventually over her head. She pushed herself back a bit, sitting down to remove her half-boots and trousers. He watched her, his eyes hooded, but she could easily sense his growing arousal. She opened herself up to him even more through their connection and saw his chin lift in acknowledgement, then he reached for her as, completely naked now, she got back onto her knees and moved to straddle his lap. 

  
She kissed him deeply, reveling in the feel of his hands as they roamed her body, touching first her breasts, then moving around her to slide down her back and curl around her buttocks. She shuddered as his touch became much more intimate and she let her head drop back as his lips moved to her neck and collarbone. She let her own hands roam down his chest, allowing her knuckles to softly sweep along his belly until she reached his belt. With practiced ease, she undid it and the fastener of his trousers. 

  
His hands came around her and for a moment their fingers tangled as they got in each other’s way. Rey giggled, but it turned into a gasp as Poe reached his original destination. She returned the favor by finishing her task and making him moan. Their heart rates increased and their breathing became labored as they continued to ensure the other was more than prepared. Rey finally moved forward, spreading her legs even wider and guiding him home with her hand. She brought up her other hand to brace it on the trunk of the tree Poe was still leaning back against and closed her eyes as she felt him fill her. He groaned and pulled her even closer with his hands on her butt, gently kneading her as he did so. 

  
Rey held still for a moment, just enjoying the feel of every part of him that touched any part of her. “Rey…” she heard him breathe into her neck as he absorbed the same feelings through their connection, then he latched onto her with his lips, nipping her lightly with his teeth. 

  
His love bite spurred her into action, and she began to rock her hips, slowly and easily at first, but gradually increasing her speed and the strength of her thrusts. With one hand still braced on the tree, she used her other hand to lift Poe’s face toward hers so she could kiss him, moaning into his mouth as she reached for the high she knew was coming. His hands moved to grip her hips tightly as he felt its approach. Her movements became sharp and jerky and she broke the kiss to gasp in air. Almost there. 

  
Suddenly, her vision became a kaleidoscope of color, bright and wild, with the center of the prism-like lights a sharp, pale blue flash. Her whole body shuddered and she screamed, hearing Poe’s indecipherable shout matching hers. The lights swirled about her for a long while, flashing every so often as aftershock after aftershock caused her to convulse over and over. Finally, she began to feel her surroundings again. Gasping for breath, she opened her eyes to see the tree glowing with an intensity she had never witnessed before. She looked at the hand she still had pressed against it, then at her husband, whose heart she could feel was still racing uncontrollably. He was glowing almost as brightly as the tree. She brought her forehead down to touch his, concentrating on his breathing, using the Force to help him focus on her and her breathing, bringing them both back to a more reasonable respiration. 

  
He was watching her, his gaze incredulous. He took a deep breath and spoke. “What the hell was that?”

  
“The tree,” Rey started, but her voice broke. 

  
Poe shook his head. “We’ve made love under this tree before,” he reminded her. “This,” he motioned with his arm weakly, “never happened before.”

  
Rey took a deep breath of her own and swallowed. “We weren’t touching it then.”

  
His eyes widened as he realized the truth of her words. Not only had his bare back been up against the trunk the whole time, but she had been bracing off of it with one hand. “Whoa,” he said softly. 

  
Rey grinned at him and he grinned back. 

  
Slowly, his grin faded. “I want to make a deal with you,” he told her, his eyes becoming serious. 

  
“Okay,” Rey responded warily.

  
“When we’re done,” he started. “When I’m done being a General and you’re done teaching Jedi and we’re done making babies, let’s come back here. To Yavin. Let our grandbabies come visit us here like our kids will still come visit Kes.” His eyes were hopeful, and she realized, her own heart aching, how much her husband was going to miss this place. His home. 

  
“Absolutely,” she whispered. “When we’re done, let’s come home.” 

  
He nodded and blinked and she saw a tear fall from one eye. He swallowed and brought a hand up to her face, rubbing his thumb gently along her lower lip. She kissed it and smiled at him. 

  
“Did you see the light?” she asked softly. 

  
“Which one?” he asked roughly. “There were a whole lot of lights.”

  
“The one in the middle,” she answered. “The bright white-blue one.”

  
He nodded, his brow furrowing. 

  
“That’s you,” she told him. “That’s what I see when I see you in the Force.” She smiled and ran her fingers through his beard. “And speaking of babies…”

  
His breath caught. “You think..?” 

  
“I can’t be sure, but it’s a definite possibility.” 

  
He looked up at the branches above them. “Now that would be a story to tell. Conceived under the Force tree.”

  
Rey snorted. “I’m not telling that story. You can tell that story.” 

  
He answered with another grin. 

  
******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The adventure starts in the next chapter! See you Friday!


	3. Chapter 3

******

Poe felt the dark tendrils work their way through his head, and he immediately started pushing at them with the wall of light Rey had taught him to use, driving his consciousness away from sleep and toward wakefulness. This wasn’t the first nightmare about the Dark Side that he had suffered through; after his experience with having his brain ransacked and almost destroyed by Mikaela Dean, nightmares involving that darkness had become frequent. Not only had his wife helped him learn how to combat the dreams, but she was usually there when he woke, their connection having alerted her to his situation, and was ready to offer him some of her Light to banish the Darkness inside him. The nightmares were becoming less and less frequent as time went on and the war with the Traagmol became more of a distant memory, but they still popped up from time to time. 

  
Tonight must be one of those times, he thought. Only, he was having no luck in pushing away the Dark, so he started panicking and struggled to leave his dream-state, searching for Rey even before he woke. When his eyes opened, he realized with sudden clarity that the Darkness he was feeling wasn’t a dream, but was reality. Rey was already scrambling naked out of their bed, grabbing the first article of clothing she could find and pulling it on, then calling her lightsaber to her as she headed out of the bedroom… in nothing but his shirt. 

  
“Rey!” he called as he stumbled out of the bed, grabbing his pants and pulling them on, then snatching his blaster from the holster hanging from the bedpost. He rushed into the living area, where BB-8 was already squealing in dismay after having seen Rey run past him. “Stay with the babies,” he told the droid, then ran out the front door, following Rey as she ran toward the base. He saw Finn running out of the door of the house he shared with Rose, their new baby Paige, and Temiri, his own lightsaber in hand. 

  
“Protect the children,” Rey called to him, as she kept running, and Finn stopped and nodded, looking back to see Rose already heading for Poe’s house, Paige in the crook of one arm, a blaster in her other hand. Poe knew she would stay with his children until the threat had passed. More shapes appeared as Rey’s Force sensitive students made their families aware that something bad was going on. Finn turned to meet them, to help calm them and keep them safe. Poe continued on after Rey, the Darkness now so strong his head was starting to throb. He could see the light of flames ahead of him, and dread filled him. 

  
The Command Center was on fire. He could see the prone bodies of at least three people in the glow of the flames, but had no idea if they were dead or alive. A few blaster bolts came from behind the building, directed toward the shape of a person, cloaked and hooded. The shape easily deflected the bolts, and Poe heard a scream as one of them hit a living target. 

  
“Hold your fire!” Rey called out. The cloaked individual, who Poe could now feel was the source of the Darkness, turned toward Rey. Immediately, a hand came up and Force lightning started shooting out of it toward his wife. Without hesitation, Rey brought up her lightsaber, the yellow blade easily deflecting the energy. Poe knew she had faced much worse, and her attitude illustrated that. There was no worry on her face, no fear. She seemed almost irritated more than anything, as if mad that this person was ruining her sleep. Standing there with her lightsaber raised, with his shirt barely covering the essentials, her hair mussed from Poe’s own hands, she looked just like the goddess he had teased her about being when they had been on Kolbe. He felt fear, pride, and desire rip through him as he watched, his blaster at the ready. 

  
The being stopped the lightning, and stood tall, facing Rey. In a voice that sounded male and disturbingly young, he spoke. “You’re the one, aren’t you?” He stepped forward as Rey lowered her saber. “The one who destroyed it all.” 

  
Rey sighed. Again, her demeanor spoke of a person who was more irked than fearful, as if she was tired of all the dramatic interruptions in her life. Poe knew different, of course. She was taking this very seriously. “Yes, I was the one who destroyed the Emperor,” she told him. “So, go ahead, take out your revenge on me. Leave everyone else alone.” 

  
“You don’t understand,” the boy gasped. “I was going to be his apprentice. I was the only one strong enough. Good enough.”

  
“To be his slave, you mean?” Rey answered, stepping closer to him. “He had no desire for an apprentice. He wanted an heir, a powerful body to take over his throne.” She shook her head slowly, moving even closer to the kid. “You would never have been strong enough for him. He would have used you and destroyed you when you were used up.” 

  
“No!” the boy screamed. “I was the most powerful of them all. He would have chosen me.”

  
“All?” Rey focused on the same word Poe did. “What all?” Rey took yet another step closer. “Where are you from?”

  
The kid shook his head, his face still hidden in the hood of his cloak. “He was going to choose me.” He thumped his chest. “Me!”

  
“Where are you from?” Rey pushed. Poe could feel the power emanating from her now, and realized with some comfort that it was overwhelming stronger than the boy. 

  
The kid seemed to fight her influence for a moment, but then gave in. 

  
“Exegol.”

  
A movement off to the side caught Poe’s attention, and the boy reacted as well, immediately shooting off more Force lightning at the person who had been trying to sneak up on him. The blast caught Sargent Hooper in the chest. Rey rushed forward, closing the last of the distance between her and the boy. “No!” she shouted, striking at him with her saber, removing the kids arm. Without hesitating, the boy brought up his other arm and Force pushed at Rey. Poe saw her body jerk ever so slightly, but then she moved forward again and the kid screamed, shooting out more lightning. Poe felt the impact on his wife before he heard her shout, agony ripping through him. He brought up his blaster and aimed it toward the boy, but Rey pushed through the pain and reached him with her saber before Poe could fire. The boy collapsed. 

  
Breathing hard, Rey closed down her saber, stepped forward and dropped to her knees next to the body. Poe rushed forward and kneeled next to her. She was carefully removing the hood, revealing the face of a human male who couldn’t have been more than 16 years old. Rey shuddered and closed her eyes. Poe reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. There was nothing he could say. She had just killed a child. It didn’t matter that it had been in self-defense, the end result was the same. 

  
He looked over as more people began to filter into the area. A fire crew was working on the Center now that they had safe access to it, and medics were attending to the fallen; he would need to find out if they were dead or alive, but at the moment he didn’t want to leave his wife. She took a deep breath and looked at him, her eyes devastated but determined. 

  
“We need to stop these attacks,” she said softly. “I need to go back to Exegol.”

  
******


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short chapter to set up the fun stuff!

The Resistance had done a thorough search of Exegol only a few days after the great battle there. They had found few survivors, and all of them had been either fighter pilots or personnel from the downed Star Destroyers. It was assumed that there had been more, but most had escaped in the days between the battle and the mop-up, finding enough working shuttles, fighters, or escape pods to leave the planet. There had been no survivors found in the remains of the Sith Citadel that Rey had destroyed, but Rey knew for a fact there had been at least one. Yarrow Rumam had already tried to extract his own kind of revenge almost three years ago, kidnapping Rey and threatening to take her unborn child and raise her as a Sith. Shaina was safely born on Ajan Kloss (barely) shortly after. 

  
Since then, only scavengers and outlaws had wanted anything to do with Exegol, and they never stayed long. Even those that had no Force sensitivity couldn’t stand the feeling that emanated from the unfriendly atmosphere of the desolate planet. 

  
Ever since her encounter with Rumam, Rey had wondered about any other Sith Eternal survivors. The Citadel had collapsed almost completely after her battle with Sidious, but there had been thousands of worshipers in the amphitheater surrounding the Throne of the Sith that day, and there was no way to know how many had lived and how many had died. Ruman was proof there could be more survivors. 

  
This child, powerful with the Dark Side, had claimed to come from Exegol. What had been missed in those final searches of the planet? Had the boy lied, or were there more like him still hidden on Exegol? Others that had attacked Yavin in recent weeks had also claimed to be associated with the Sith Eternal, but Rey had just assumed they were part of smaller cults that had inevitably sprouted up throughout the galaxy after the Emperor’s death. If there was a larger group of survivors still hiding out on the Sith planet, one that included force powerful children, Rey needed to know about it. She needed to do her own search of the planet. 

  
Chewie had stepped forward immediately and demanded she let him take her there, and she wasn’t going to refuse. She had long ago learned to let go of her streak of independence when it came to dangerous situations and accept the help of her friends. While she would always feel the powerful inclination to protect those she loved, she knew better than to dismiss the idea that they were not as protective of her as she was of them. And, she reminded herself, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. 

  
Of course, this meant that Finn had invited himself along, as well. Rey only put up a mild argument. Being a new father, she felt his place was with his wife and baby, but Rose had encouraged him to go with Rey, and Rey knew that the new mother had a great support system already in place among their friends in the Resistance, so she would not be alone. Rey would also appreciate the steadiness her first Jedi ‘graduate’ would bring; nothing much upset Finn. If there were indeed children to be found on Exegol, Finn’s calm demeanor and experience with Force sensitive kids would be a great advantage. 

  
It was while the three of them were rushing around the _Falcon_ checking systems and ensuring the old ship was good to go that BB-8 rolled up the ramp, chirping away happily. Rey stopped in her tracks and looked at her droid as he halted and focused on her. “BB, what are you doing here?”

  
In answer, the little droid just turned his head to look behind him, and sure enough, walking up the ramp was his master. Rey had planned on stopping by the Command Center before they left to say goodbye to her husband and had not expected him to come to the ship, but when she noticed the satchel he had slung over his shoulder, and the casual clothing he was wearing, she realized he had not come to say goodbye. 

  
They stood staring at each other for a moment before Rey finally spoke. “The move to Kolbe..?”

  
“Doesn’t need me,” Poe finished. “D’Acy and Connix are quite capable of handling it. And Kes is happy to have the babies to himself for a while longer.” His eyebrows rose, daring her to argue. 

  
Rey wanted to. She really did. It was tradition with them, to argue over everything and anything they were even mildly at odds on. But not today. 

  
“Welcome aboard, General,” she told him softly. Then she turned away with a grin and headed for the cockpit. “Just remember who’s in charge of this mission,” she said over her shoulder. 

  
“Yes, ma’am,” she heard him say, a smile in his voice. 

  
It took less than an hour for them to make all the final preparations. Rey commed the Command Center to let them know they were heading out. “I guess we’re stealing the General,” she told them, trying to hold back a grin. 

  
“Just don’t let him get too beat up out there,” Leuitenant Kehchog told her, laughter in her own voice. “We kind of like him around here.” Rey always appreciated the lack of formality on base. Somehow, Poe had managed to find the perfect balance between proper discipline and a relaxed attitude. Kehchog’s voice turned serious. “Take care out there, Rey,” she said. “We’re quite fond of all of you.” 

  
Rey glanced back at her team. Chewie next to her, Finn behind him, Poe moving to sit behind her, and BB-8 taking his usual position right behind the center console. Her heart felt amazingly full; it was almost like old times. “We will,” she told the Flight Control officer. “We’ll take care of each other like always. _Falcon_ out.” 

  
With a nod to Chewie, her hands moved to the controls, and together they smoothly got the _Falcon_ into the air. Within moments, they had left atmo and were preparing for hyperspace. Rey glanced around the cockpit one more time, making eye contact with everyone there, then with another nod, she initiated the jump. 

  
Onward to Exegol. 

  
******


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI! Anyone awake? It's awful quiet out there!

When Rey had first traveled to Exegol almost five years ago, she had been flying Luke Skywalker’s old X-Wing and using a slightly singed Sith Wayfinder. She had also transmitted course markers as she flew the treacherous route, sending them to the Resistance, hoping Finn and Poe and Chewie had made it back to Ajan Kloss and would be bringing as many people as they could muster to help defeat the Final Order. 

  
It had been a huge gamble, especially knowing that Leia was gone. She had no clue at the time that Poe had been promoted to Acting General and that he, in turn, had promoted Finn to help him. She did remember lying there in the Citadel after believing she had failed, looking up at the Force lightning radiating from her hated grandfather’s fingertips, feeling the fear and desperation flowing through the Force around her. The fear and desperation had been coming from those closest to her. Finn. Chewie. Poe. 

  
She shook her head ruefully. How in the galaxy had she been lucky enough to have these three beings come into her life? They had almost died on this planet, and yet they were willingly coming back with her, without hesitation and no trying to talk her out of it. Never in all her lonely years spent on Jakku had she ever believed she would have such friends. She never truly believed people in general could ever be so loyal. Or so loved. 

  
She and Chewie navigated the once secret route through the remains of long dead giant space faring creatures and red gas clouds, arriving at the dark, desert planet in good time. The view they experienced after their exit from their last hyperspace jump was much different than the last time they had visited the planet. Instead of hundreds of Star Destroyers hovering over Exegol’s barren surface, the skies were clear. The static charges created by the dry dust in the atmosphere were still evident as they got closer, however. Like lightning without thunder, Rey thought. It gave the dark planet an extra eerie feel. 

  
Rey directed the _Falcon_ toward the Citadel. Its upside-down pyramid shape was still intact, though Rey knew what lay beneath was long gone. She settled the freighter down gently as close to the black stone structure as she dared, then took a deep breath. Her companions stared out the cockpit window, and she realized with a sudden jolt than they had never been here. The search parties that had scoured Exegol after the battle had been mostly ground troops, with a few pilots that had volunteered to help. Poe and Finn had both been occupied elsewhere, directing the handful of small skirmishes with the First Order that had occurred in the days after the main battle, and she and Chewie had both been flying in those skirmishes. 

  
She looked at the Citadel again, trying to see it as they were probably seeing it. With the ‘lightning’ constantly flashing about the huge structure, it looked menacing, and Rey could feel the Darkness that radiated from it. She glanced at the others again, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that both Finn and Poe could feel that Darkness. She had never been able to determine how much sensitivity Chewie had – Wookiees were very hard to read in the Force, despite the fact they gave off enormous and easily recognizable Light energy – but she guessed he could feel it as well. 

  
“You guys ready?” she asked softly. 

  
She saw Poe and Finn eye each other. “Let’s do this,” Poe said finally, nodding at his wife. 

  
She nodded back and stood. BB-8 moved out of her way as she headed out of the cockpit, her team following. BB-8 began to trill and beep persistently. “You can stay on the ship if you want, BB,” Rey told him in response. “But we might get lost down there without you.” She grabbed her sling bag and shouldered it as her companions also began to gather up their belongings, both Poe and Finn checking their weapons one more time. “There’s a reason you came along, isn’t there?” 

  
BB-8 seemed to contemplate her question for a moment, then he tilted his head to look up at Poe and beeped him a question. He shrugged in response. “I didn’t ask you to come,” he told his droid. “You invited yourself. As usual.” It was a subtle reminder of the time BB-8 had stowed away aboard the shuttle Finn and Rose had taken to Catonica without Poe’s permission. He had known his help would be needed in the mission to disable the First Order’s active tracker, and he had been right; he had saved Finn and Rose more than once on the excursion. It was also a not-so subtle reminder that once upon a time, BB-8 had been the bravest droid in the Resistance. 

  
Rey watched as BB-8 seemed to make an important decision. With another little trill, he followed them down the Falcon’s ramp and toward the Citadel. She shared a soft smile with her husband as they walked across the rocky ground, their ‘first born’ at their heels. 

  
Rey moved ahead of the small group, leading them underneath the floating structure to the platform that would lower them down to the main amphitheater. This view was also much different than the last time she traveled this route, with all the dark statues of past Sith Lords nothing more than rubble on the temple floor. She was actually amazed the platform still worked, and the fact that she could easily manipulate it with the Force even now made her wonder how many others had traveled this path since she was here last. 

  
Finally, they reached the bottom. She led them on through the towering hallways, the only light coming from the ‘lightning’ still visible through the open shafts leading to the surface above them. Rey ignited her lightsaber to help light their way, and the others also lit their own torches; Finn kept his lightsaber on his belt, not as confident as Rey with using it in the close confines of the hall. She heard whispering coming from the two men behind her. She didn’t try to hear what was said, but she did note the humor in both men’s voices. She glanced back and they immediately stopped talking and looked at her with innocent expressions. “Do I need to separate you two?” she asked, trying not to laugh. They both shook their heads ‘no.’ Finn immediately started looking around him as if the dark walls were suddenly interesting, but Poe gave her a wink. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, then faced front again and started walking, a small smile on her lips. 

  
They came to a large room that she knew had once held all the cloning equipment that had helped the Emperor stay alive, even after his original body had been destroyed on the second Death Star. From what she had deduced, Palpatine had this whole laboratory set up long before his encounter with Luke Skywalker on that fateful day. Somehow, he had been able to transfer his consciousness from the Death Star to this place before his frail human body had died, having been thrown into the giant weapon’s reactor shaft by Darth Vader. However, the cloned bodies he had made here were never as strong as his natural body had been, and one by one they had failed him, unable to contain the immense Force power he possessed. 

  
“He wasn’t really my grandfather,” she said suddenly, her voice breaking the silence that had fallen when they had entered the room. “My father was actually one of his failed clones,” she told them softly. “One that had no control of the Force whatsoever.” Rey looked at them. “Why Sidious didn’t just destroy him, I don’t know. He was just… let go.” 

  
“And thank the Force for that, “ Finn told her as he moved around the room. “You father was able to find some happiness for a while, finding your mother and loving you, even if only for a short time.” 

  
Rey gave him a soft smile. “The older you get, Finn, the more you become a ‘cup half full’ kind of guy.” 

  
Finn snorted at her assessment. “Rosie wouldn’t agree. She calls me ‘Mr. Negative’.”

  
“Do wives ever agree with their husbands in regards to their emotions?” Poe asked innocently. 

  
Finn shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe in some alternate universe.” 

  
Rey looked at Chewie. “Whose idea was it to bring these two clowns again?” she asked him. 

  
The Wookiee shrugged and grumbled that they had invited themselves. As usual. 

  
Poe didn’t miss the replay of his own earlier statement. “Hey!” 

  
Rey shook her head and turned toward another hallway, this one tighter than the others. “This way,” she said with a smile. Thank the Force they were here, keeping what could have been a very stressful experience comfortable. The Light Side was strong with her team. 

  
Then she entered the throne room. Or what used to be the throne room. She gazed around her as the men, Chewie, and BB-8 split up to navigate the huge chamber, which was still wrecked with the remains of the Sith statues that had collapsed at the Emperor’s death. The huge monolithic structures had destroyed everything as they fell, including the bleachers holding the thousands of Sith Eternal worshipers and the Throne of the Sith itself. Rey could still see part of the stone monstrosity, the sharp points of its back lying forgotten on the ground. While the Darkness of this place surrounded her, she felt nothing from the remains before her. Its destruction, like that of Sidious himself, had been complete. 

  
“This is where it happened, isn’t it?” she heard Finn say behind her. “This is where the Emperor died?” 

  
She turned to look at him. He was looking at her, but Poe was looking up, through the opening in the roof that exposed the currently clear, dark sky of Exegol. Rey glanced up, too, remembering her view of the battle that day. She looked back down to see her husband now watching her, concern alight in his eyes. “Yes,” she whispered, answering Finn. “It’s also where I died.”

  
******


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I often wonder how much Rey told Poe and Finn about her experience on Exegol. I like to think she kept it to a bare minimum, telling them only the important things. But now, five years later, she's ready to open up.

Poe watched as his wife began to wander around the shattered stone remains around them, his heart squeezing in his chest as he realized she was mentally drifting back to that day. His own memories of that day were tough enough to manage sometimes, but the battle he had fought above the planet had been nothing compared to what Rey had been through. He carefully followed her, noting how her eyes seemed to focus inward as she began to talk. 

  
“He was waiting for me. Hanging like some wretched puppet, unable to even walk on his own.” Her voice was soft but firm as she recalled that day. “His eyes were cloudy and his body was literally falling apart, but the power coming from him was so frighteningly strong. It was no wonder the clones he made never lived long, with that kind of sick power eating away at them from the inside out.” She stopped and turned to face what was left of the throne. “He seemed so delighted when he said how long he had waited for his granddaughter to come ‘home.’ All so he could use my young, strong body to house his decrepit spirit.” 

  
She looked at Poe. “I was able to deny him,” she said. “It was amazingly easy to keep his Force influence at bay. As strong as he was, I knew I could hold him off.” She tilted her head up to look at the sky above them. “Until he threatened you.” She seemed to shiver in reaction. “He showed me the battle. I could feel the fear. The death.” She swallowed. “He told me I could save you if I agreed.” She paused, looking back down, but refusing to look at him or the others. “So, I agreed.” 

  
Poe heard Finn take a shuddering breath, and Chewie growled softly. 

  
“I had this silly idea that I could control it,” Rey continued. “The Dark Side. Control it so it couldn’t control me. That I could take on Sidious’ spirit without losing my own.” She shook her head. “It was the only way I could keep from falling apart.” 

  
She turned again and walked away from the throne. “Then I felt Ben,” she continued. “He had been cornered by his own Knights. They sensed, as I did, that Kylo Ren was dead. And that Ben Solo was a threat.” She glanced at Finn, who had moved closer to her. “I can’t explain it even now, but I was able to give him Luke’s lightsaber through our Dyad connection. He used it to fight off the Knights and I used Leia’s saber to fight off the Emperor’s guards, and soon we were both standing before him, nothing between us and him, nothing to stop us from ending his reign.” She took a deep breath. “Except him.” She shook her head. “Even with our connection, our strength was no match for Sidious. In fact, he recognized our connection, and used it. Right before my eyes, unable to move, he healed himself. He used the life force from both Ben and I to become whole again.”

  
She squatted down and picked up a loose rock. Poe stepped over and crouched down next to her, close but not touching. Offering her his own energy to support her, but not interrupting. She looked at him and gave him a soft smile, then looked down at the rock in her hands. 

  
“I passed out after that, the pain was too intense. When I woke, I was sure I was as good as dead. He was killing everyone I loved, using that same Force lightning that I used on Pasaana to slowly and deliberately destroy everything good.” She dropped the rock and stood, Poe following. “I wanted to give up. I was exhausted. My whole body hurt. I couldn’t feel Ben and assumed he was dead. I didn’t see any reason to even try.” A small smile touched her lips. “Then I remembered Leia, and her constant badgering about being patient. That I would know what needed to be done when the time came. That I had to trust in the Force.” She turned and glanced at Chewie. “So, I opened myself up completely and invited them in, just as Leia had taught me. And for the first time, they accepted the invitation.”

  
Rey gave a soft laugh. “I could hear them, and every voice was familiar. I knew their names and I could see their faces in my mind’s eye, but I had never met any one of them before. Only Luke.” She glanced at Chewie again. “His presence was the strongest of them all. They pushed me. Prodded me. Talked me through the pain, the fear, the helplessness. Before I knew it, I was on my feet facing him, Leia’s lightsaber in my hand once more. It was enough to distract him from what he was doing, and I immediately felt the relief from everyone in the sky above us.

  
“It was almost a shock to me how the saber was able to deflect even his energy,“ she continued. “But I knew it wasn’t just my power that was fighting him. I could feel them all behind me. All the Jedi.” She paused. “I called Luke’s saber to me, and crossed them, creating a shield. It was agonizing. It was terrifying. It was desperate. But it worked. His energy doubled back on itself, and before he could do anything to prevent it, he was caught in own carnage. And then, it was done.”

  
She was silent for a long while, and Poe held his breath, waiting. He could tell the others were doing the same. 

  
“I always heard that dying was peaceful,” she said, her voice quiet. “And it was,” she shrugged. “But not in the way I had imagined. There was no light to meet me. No comfort. The Others weren’t there.” She tilted her head. “When I look back on it, I think they weren’t there because they knew it wasn’t over, yet. I think they were waiting to see what happened next.” She looked at Finn. “They’re not omniscient. I don’t think they had any clue what Ben Solo was about to do. When I opened my eyes, he was there, his own body battered far more than mine, his eyes exhausted, but full of hope.” She looked at Poe once more. “They were his mother’s eyes,” she said with a slight grin. “And he smiled,” she whispered. “I had never seen him smile.” Her own smile faded. “And then he was gone.” 

  
Poe stared at her intently. He was thinking about the one moment she left unspoken, the moment that Finn and Chewie didn’t need to know about. The moment that he had only learned long after he had married this amazing woman, when she had admitted it to him after a long discussion about Ben Solo and the Dark Side influenced nightmares she had had before and during the war with the Traagmol. “And you were alive,” he whispered in response to her last statement. 

  
She nodded at him. “And I’m alive,” she whispered back. Then she moved toward him, placed her palms on either side of his face, and kissed him. 

  
******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I know this one is dialog heavy, more of a character study than anything. I promise there is some intrigue and a bit of action coming up!


	7. Chapter 7

Rey felt her husband’s arms come around her as he sank into her kiss, and she let her own arms slide around his neck. She had seen his intensity as she finished her story, and she knew he had been thinking about the kiss she had admitted to sharing with Ben Solo just before his death. She didn’t regret it, nor did she feel any remorse for the feelings she had experienced for Han and Leia’s son. But she was long past mourning the man who had been her other half in the Force, and was grateful beyond measure for the man she had chosen as her other half in life. She wasn’t about to let Poe forget it.

  
“Okay, guys,” she heard Finn say. “We get it. You’re glad to be alive and to be together, but can we focus on this mission so we can get the hell out of here?” Chewie growled his agreement. 

  
Rey slowly pulled back, meeting Poe’s eyes, and grinned as she saw the humor in them. She stepped away from her husband and looked at Finn. “Sorry, but you can’t begrudge us this moment, can you?” 

  
“I can when it lasts as long as that!” Finn argued. 

  
“He’s just jealous because Rose is more focused on the baby than him right now,” Poe claimed. “I get it, buddy. I’ve been there.” 

  
“That is so not true!” Finn argued. “I am not feeling neglected by my wife!”

  
“No worries, Finn,” Rey assured him. “She’ll remember you’re there eventually.”

  
“Most likely when she’s ready to have another baby,” Poe continued.

  
Finn shook his head in frustration, but couldn’t stop the smile as Rey giggled at Poe’s last statement. “Enough!” he cried, even as Chewie started to snort in amusement. 

  
They all laughed, relieved to have the tension of Rey’s recollection eased. But then Rey noticed someone wasn’t adding to the conversation. She looked sharply at Poe. “Where’s BB-8?”

  
The laughter died as all four of them started looking around quickly. Some of the fallen chunks of stone were larger than the droid, so it was possible he was just out of view, but as they all split up to look for him, it became apparent he was no longer in the chamber with them. 

  
When their calls did not bring about the familiar beeps, Poe grabbed his commlink. “BB-8, where are you?”

  
Rey took a deep breath in relief when the droid answered. 

  
“’By the fallen statue’ doesn’t help us here, buddy!” Poe exclaimed with a huff of laughter. “Turn on your transponder.”

  
The ball droid obeyed and Poe used the connection to his commlink to focus in on BB-8’s location. The others followed, Rey bringing up the rear. They came to the remnant of the stone grandstand and Rey wasn’t surprised to see the skeletal remains of dozens of human bodies. She heard her husband grunt in disgust. It was obvious by the scattering of the bones that in the last five years animal scavengers had used the destroyed colosseum as a feeding ground. 

  
Suddenly, Chewie growled and pointed. BB-8 sat next to the almost intact head of one of the shattered Sith statues, rolling back and forth slightly, waiting for them. Poe, still disturbed by the human remnants (Force knew he hated bones!), glared at his droid. “Just what were you thinking going off by yourself like that?”

  
BB-8 beeped a query. 

  
“Yeah, of course I want you to be brave and get out and help us, but we’re a team, bud. You don’t just wander away from your team. That’s not brave, it’s stupid.” 

  
“I know this for a fact, BB,” Rey concurred. “Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it.”

  
Poe turned his glare on her, but the corners of his mouth were twitching a bit under his beard. “You didn’t wander, Mesh’la. You absconded.” He wasn’t about to let her forget about the time she left them on Kef Bir, risking her life several times over trying to protect her friends. 

  
BB-8 started beeping again and they turned back to face him. He swiveled and looked toward the base of the wall, shining a light on the hole that was barely visible behind the statue head. Looking at it, Rey just assumed it was the result of the stone effigy hitting the wall when it fell, but BB-8 seemed intent on it. So, igniting her lightsaber once more, Rey stepped toward it. 

  
It was large enough for her to fit through. In fact, Chewie would be able to squeeze himself in if he wanted to. She carefully climbed inside the hole, her lightsaber before her, and was only a bit shocked to find herself in a hallway. She moved away from the hole as her companions started coming in behind her. Knowing Finn had studied up on the initial search reports from after the Battle of Exegol, she looked at him first. “Is this familiar?”

  
Finn shook his head, glancing back at Chewie, who had crawled through the opening and was now pulling BB-8 inside. “I don’t remember any report of tunnels underneath the grandstand.” 

  
Rey opened herself up to the Force completely. She had been holding off on doing so since they arrived, not wanting to be inundated with the Dark Side until she had to. She didn’t fear it, but it did mess with her ability to concentrate and gave her a raging headache. Now she let it in, reaching for the Light just beyond the Dark and letting it guide her. She turned left and started heading down the corridor. “This way,” she told her team. “Something is this way. Not sure what, yet.”

  
“Well, that’s comforting,” Poe mumbled, and Chewie grunted in agreement, but they followed her. She glanced back to see all three of her ‘boys’ with weapons ready. 

  
Suddenly, they walked into an open chamber. It was cold, and Rey could feel air circulating through vents in the walls. Artificially cooled air. There was a shape on the floor that looked suspiciously like a body covered in a tarpaulin. Rey walked toward it carefully, then squatted down to pull the covering off. She gasped slightly as she looked on the face of a human child, no more than ten standard years old. The girl was obviously deceased, as her features were already decomposing. Rey stood and backed away. 

  
She looked at her companions, and they looked back at her, eyes wide and confused. “Even in this cool air, that is not five years worth of decay,” she whispered. “This child died recently.” She looked back around the room to another opening. “It looks like the Sith Eternal have been keeping a big secret here on Exegol after all.” 

  
******


	8. Chapter 8

There was another passage on the other side of the makeshift morgue, and Poe was anxious to enter it, more to get away from the body than to see what was ahead. The deceased child disturbed him far more than he would have expected, especially as he had spent a great majority of his adult life dealing with death on a regular basis. However, things had changed in the last few years. He was a father, now, and the body of the little girl hit too close to his own heart as he thought of his own daughter back home. 

  
He felt the others follow him and for a while he was content to lead them through the dark, cool passageway. Then he came to an intersection, and the tunnel branched off into three different directions. He stepped aside and Rey moved up next to him. She was focused on the tunnels ahead, but he felt her touch him gently on the arm as she came close, letting her hand slide down his forearm until she reached his hand. She gave his fingers a slight squeeze and he returned the gesture, letting his fingers tangle with hers for a moment, silently thanking her.

  
Rey moved in front of him and he could see her take a deep breath and close her eyes. He felt the Force surge around him, and was extra grateful he wasn’t as sensitive to it as Rey and Finn; he felt it strongest when Rey directed it close to him. He had no desire to feel the full power of the Dark around them; what negative energy he could feel was bad enough. He watched as Rey opened her eyes and moved to the right tunnel and he and the others followed without question. He noticed in the glow of her saber and his own torch that there were light sconces on the walls and he wondered if they still had power and if they were ever used. It was obvious someone had brought the girl’s body through these tunnels, probably with the intention to keep the body there only temporarily until she could be buried or burned on the surface. 

  
They continued to move through the tunnels silently, stopping only when they came to junctions where Rey would stop and open up to the Force to determine which way to go. Poe could tell they were moving downward ever so slightly, and he didn’t really like that thought. They had been walking, slowly but deliberately, for a good thirty minutes before something changed in the air. There was movement, a current, cool but not cold. They came around a corner, and Rey’s gasp reflected his own shock. He heard Chewie grumble behind him and BB-8 gave out a low whistle. 

  
“Damn,” Finn said softly. 

  
The chamber before them was huge. Poe guesstimated that it was at least a kilometer long and at least half as wide. He looked up, realizing that he could see the whole chamber despite the fact it was underground because of some kind of luminescent growths that covered the ceiling of the gargantuan cavern. He looked down and saw dozens of buildings of various shapes and sizes. Among the buildings he could see what looked like several dark colored plants. Somehow, they were able to grow here in the restrictive light from above. He also noted a few vehicles here and there: a couple of speeder bikes, a small hovercraft, a full-sized rig used to transport heavy equipment. They were looking at a good sized, intact underground village. However, there was something missing. 

  
There were no people. 

  
“This must be where the Emperor’s troops lived,” Rey said softly. Her voice echoed despite her low tone. Poe shook his head in amazement as Rey started walking down a set of stairs built into the stone wall, heading for the village. “We knew they had to have been housed nearby. I guess I just assumed they were all shipbound.” The Emperor’s Final Order Sith Fleet had included thousands of loyal officers, pilots, Stormtroopers, and other recruits, and very few of them had been older than thirty standard years. On interviewing the few survivors they had captured, the Resistance had learned that these people had essentially been raised by the ‘Final Order,’ brainwashed from birth to be loyal to the Emperor and his military. They had never known any other life. “I’ll bet there are other cities like this around the planet,” Rey said. “Those tunnels probably connect them all.”

  
“But it looks abandoned, now,” Finn said as they reached the bottom of the staircase. “I don’t see any evidence that anyone has been here in the last five years.” He shrugged. “I can’t tell if there is anything or anyone alive, though,” he admitted. “That Dark Side energy is just too much for me to ‘see’ through. It’s like trying to swim in mud.” 

  
Rey was looking around intently, but she was nodding at Finn’s words. “I feel life, but I can’t tell if it’s human or some other kind of animal,” she told them. She glanced at Finn. “Even I have a hard time focusing in this mud.” She shut down her lightsaber and put it back on her belt. “I guess the best thing to do is have a look around. See if we can find any evidence of human life. That little girl came from somewhere.” 

  
She began to move down the ‘street,’ looking carefully at every small house they passed, and Poe knew she was trying to focus the Force to pinpoint any life inside those buildings. To him, the place just felt plain creepy. He was expecting the ghosts and ghouls from the stories of his childhood to come popping out of a doorway at any minute. 

  
Suddenly, that’s exactly what happened, only it wasn’t a specter that jumped out. It was a child, a small boy that couldn’t have been more than six years old, running away from them in ragged clothing and bare feet. 

  
“Wait!” Rey shouted. “We won’t hurt you!” She began running after the child, and Poe took off after her. He could hear the others come up behind him, but they stayed back a bit, not wanting to scare the child more and also keeping an eye on their six. 

  
The boy shot around the corner of one of the houses, and he and Rey turned the corner together, only to stop short at the sight in front of them. 

  
More than a dozen children, ranging from ages six to sixteen, stood in front of them, and they were armed. Most had blasters, but a couple had lightsabers of their own. The boy they had chased had apparently been a lure, and he had led them straight into a trap. 

  
******

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Good kids? Bad kids? 
> 
> See you Friday!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll probably post on Mondays and Fridays with this one. Thank you for reading!!!!


End file.
